Electronic device

ABSTRACT

An electronic device including a hinge module, a first body, a first linking assembly, a second body, a second linking assembly, and a flexible display assembled to the first body and the second body is provided. The hinge module includes a first rotating shaft, a second rotating shaft parallel to the first rotating shaft, a first guiding shaft orthogonal to the first rotating shaft, and a second guiding shaft orthogonal to the second rotating shaft. The first body is slidably assembled to the first guiding shaft, the second body is slidably assembled to the second guiding shaft, the first linking assembly slidably assembled to the first guiding shaft connects the first body, and the second linking assembly slidably assembled to the second guiding shaft connects the second body. A deformation of the flexible display drives the first and second bodies to move close to or away from the hinge module.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan applicationserial no. 108204527, filed on Apr. 12, 2019. The entirety of theabove-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by referenceherein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The disclosure is related to an electronic device.

Description of Related Art

With the advancement of technology, the flexible display technology isgradually maturing and considered to have a strong developmentpotential. In general, the flexible display technology includeselectronic paper, flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED), etc.Furthermore, in view of functional requirements such as bending,folding, extending, etc. of the display device for portable electronicdevice, the application of flexible display technology on portableelectronic device is very diverse. At the same time, with theapplication of flexible material in the field of electronic display, theelectronic display device may not only be displayed in a larger areawhen extended, but may also be folded when required to facilitateportability.

However, corresponding to the extending and folding of device mechanismon the flexible display device, a flexible (soft) display panel on theflexible display device also correspondingly changes in shape and sizedue to the flexible characteristic thereof. For example, the flexibledisplay panel may have an extra or a reduced length relative to thedevice mechanism due to difference in degrees of bending (flattening).If the design is performed with mechanical characteristics of existingelectronic device, it will not only cause inconvenience in use, but mayalso cause the display panel to deviate from the original position,thereby resulting in creasing or even falling off from the mechanism.Therefore, there is an urgent need in the field to improve on themechanism of existing flexible display device, so as to adapt to thetrend in technology development and market demands.

SUMMARY

The disclosure provides an electronic device to meet the unfolding andfolding requirements of a flexible display.

The electronic device of the disclosure includes a hinge module, a firstbody, a first linking assembly, a second body, and a second linkingassembly. The hinge module has a first rotating shaft, a second rotatingshaft, a first guiding shaft, and a second guiding shaft. The firstrotating shaft is parallel to the second rotating shaft, the firstguiding shaft is orthogonal to the first rotating shaft, and the secondguiding shaft is orthogonal to the second rotating shaft. The first bodyis slidably assembled to the first guiding shaft, and the first linkingassembly is slidably assembled to the first guiding shaft and connectedto the first body. The second body is slidably assembled to the secondguiding shaft, and the second linking assembly is slidably assembled tothe second guiding shaft and connected to the second body. The flexibledisplay is disposed on the first body and the second body. The firstbody and the second body relatively rotate to be folded or unfolded viathe hinge module, and are driven by a deformation of the flexibledisplay to move closer to or away from the hinge module.

Based on the above, since the electronic device is configured with theflexible display, in order for the device structure to conform with thedeformation requirement of the flexible display, the electronic devicemakes use of the first guiding shaft configured by the hinge module atthe first rotating shaft and the second guiding shaft configured at thesecond rotating shaft to allow the first body and the second body to beslidably configured at the first guiding shaft and the second guidingshaft respectively. At the same time, the first guiding shaft and thesecond guiding shaft are each further configured with a first linkingassembly and a second linking assembly, and are correspondinglyconnected to the first body and the second body. Accordingly, thecomponent configuration will cause the first body and the second body toeach have a slidable distance, so that a specific route may be movedaccording to the amount of deformation of the flexible display.

Based on the above, since the first body and the second body may alsomove relative to the hinge module during rotation of being switchedbetween folded and unfolded, the bodies may be away from the hingemodule when the flexible display is in a bent state, so that the spaceafter the bodies are away from the hinge module may accommodate thebending of the flexible display. Also, the bodies and the hinge modulemay be located on the same plane to support the flexible displaytogether when the flexible display is in a flat state. In this way, therelative motion between the bodies and the hinge module may conform withthe deformation requirement of the flexible display, thereby effectivelypreventing the flexible display from creasing or even falling off.

To make the aforementioned and other features of the disclosure morecomprehensible, several embodiments accompanied with drawings aredescribed in detail as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an electronic device in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are schematic views of the electronic device of FIG. 1in different states respectively.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are exploded views of different parts of theelectronic device of FIG. 1 respectively.

FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C are partial side views corresponding to FIG. 1 toFIG. 3 respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an electronic device in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are schematic views ofthe electronic device of FIG. 1 in different states respectively.Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 at the same time, in the embodiment, anelectronic device 100 is, for example, a handphone, a tablet computer,or a notebook computer, which includes a first body 110, a second body120, a flexible display 130, and a hinge module 140, wherein theflexible display 130 is disposed on the first body 110 and the secondbody 120, and the first body 110 and the second body 120 may relativelyrotate to be folded or unfolded via the twin shaft mechanism of thehinge module 140. The flexible display 130 presents differentdeformations with respect to the unfolding and folding states of thefirst body 110 and the second body 120. Here, the state shown in FIG. 1is regarded as a bent state of the flexible display 130 and the stateshown in FIG. 2 is regarded as a flat state of the flexible display 130.

As mentioned above, the flexible characteristic of the flexible display130 causes the flexible display 130 to have size variations with respectto different deformations. If existing hinge technology is adopted, theopening and closing locations of the bodies will be different from thedeformation state of the flexible display, thereby causing the flexibledisplay to crease or even fall off.

In view of this, FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are exploded views of differentparts of the electronic device of FIG. 1 respectively. Here, in order toclearly identify the hinge module 140, the hinge module 140 is explodedinto different drawings. However, since the hinge module 140 isconfigured in pairs, the components shown in FIG. 4B are consistent withthe components shown in FIG. 4A. Following up, descriptions will bemainly based on FIG. 4A. In the electronic device 100 of the embodiment,the hinge module 140 has a first guiding shaft 143 and a second guidingshaft 144 in addition to a first rotating shaft 141 and a secondrotating shaft 142 used for rotational unfolding and folding, so thatthe first body 110 is slidably assembled to the first guiding shaft 143and the second body 120 is slidably assembled to the second guidingshaft 144. Furthermore, the electronic device 100 further includes afirst linking assembly 150 and a second linking assembly 160, whereinthe first linking assembly 150 is slidably assembled to the firstguiding shaft 143 and connected to the first body 110, and the secondlinking assembly 160 is slidably assembled to the second guiding shaft144 and connected to the second body 120.

In detail, the hinge module 140 further includes a torsion assembly 145,a structure 146, and a cover 147. The first rotating shaft 141 and thesecond rotating shaft 142 are respectively inserted into the structure146 to connect to the torsion assembly 145. When the first rotatingshaft 141 and the second rotating shaft 142 respectively rotates aboutaxial directions X1 and X2, the torsion assembly 145 generates afriction with the first rotating shaft 141 and the second rotating shaft142 to provide the torque required to support the bodies. Here, theconfiguration of the torque assembly 145, the first rotating shaft 141,and the second rotating shaft 142 may be obtained from existingtechnology, which shall not be reiterated.

It should be noted that in the hinge module 140 of the embodiment, thefirst rotating shaft 141, the second rotating shaft 142, the firstguiding shaft 143, the second guiding shaft 144, the torsion assembly145, and the structure 146 are configured in pairs, so the followingdescriptions will be based on only one of the pairs, while descriptionsof the other one will be omitted due to the pair being the same andsymmetrically configured. Next, the components are accommodated in thecover 147 after being assembled.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the first rotating shaft 141 and the secondrotating shaft 142 are parallel to each other (the axial direction X1 isparallel to the axial direction X2), the first guiding shaft 143 isorthogonal to the first rotating shaft 141, and the second guiding shaft144 is orthogonal to the second rotating shaft 142. Also, in theembodiment, the first guiding shaft 143 and the first rotating shaft 141are regarded as an integral structure, that is, the first guiding shaft143 is extended and turned from the first rotating shaft 141, and thesecond guiding shaft 144 and the second rotating shaft 142 are regardedas an integral structure, that is, the second guiding shaft 144 isextended and turned from the second rotating shaft 142. In the stateshown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4A, the first guiding shaft 143 and the secondguiding shaft 144 have a consistent sliding direction X3.

Furthermore, the first linking assembly 150 includes a first sleeve 151,a second sleeve 152, and a plurality of first linking members A1 to A3.The first sleeve 151 and the second sleeve 152 are slidably configuredat the first guiding shaft 143, and the first linking members A1 to A3are serially hinged to one other, wherein the hinge direction isparallel to the first rotating shaft 141 (the axial direction X1) andthe second rotating shaft 142 (the axial direction X2). The firstlinking member A1 is hinged to the first sleeve 151, the first linkingmember A2 is hinged to the second sleeve 152, the first linking memberA3 is hinged to the first body 110, and the first linking member A1 ishinged to the cover 147 of the hinge module 140. Further, the firstlinking members A1 to A3 have a plurality of hinge points E1 to E4corresponding to the first sleeve 151, the second sleeve 152, the firstbody 110, and the cover 147, and the hinging action is completed byusing hinge pins B1 to B4.

Similarly, the second linking assembly 160 includes a third sleeve 161,a fourth sleeve 162, and a plurality of second linking members A4 to A6.The third sleeve 161 and the fourth sleeve 162 are slidably configuredat the second guiding shaft 144, and the second linking members A4 to A6are serially hinged to one other, wherein the hinge direction isparallel to the first rotating shaft 141 (the axial direction X1) andthe second rotating shaft 142 (the axial direction X2). The secondlinking member A4 is hinged to the third sleeve 161, the second linkingmember A5 is hinged to the fourth sleeve 162, the second linking memberA6 is hinged to the second body 120, and the second linking member A4 ishinged to the cover 147 of the hinge module 140. Further, the secondlinking members A4 to A6 have a plurality of hinge points E5 to E8corresponding to the third sleeve 161, the fourth sleeve 162, the secondbody 120, and the cover 147, and the hinging action is completed byusing hinge pins B5 to B8.

Here, the first sleeve 151 is located between the second sleeve 152 andthe hinge module 140, a hinge point of the first linking member A3 andthe first body 110 is adjacent to the second sleeve 152, the thirdsleeve 161 is located between the fourth sleeve 162 and the hinge module140, and a hinge point of the second linking member A6 and the secondbody 120 is adjacent to the fourth sleeve 162.

Based on the above, with the configuration of the first linking assembly150 and the second linking assembly 160 corresponding to the first body110, the second body 120, and the hinge module 140, the first body 110and the second body 120 are expected to generate a relative movementwith the hinge module 140 according to the deformation state of theflexible display 130.

FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C are partial side views corresponding to FIG. 1 toFIG. 3 respectively. Referring to FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C at the same time,in the embodiment, the display surface of the flexible display 130 isfurther divided into a first portion S1, a second portion S2, and athird portion S3, wherein the first portion S1 is disposed with thefirst body 110, the second portion S2 is disposed with the second body120, and the third portion S3 is adjacent between the first portion S1and the second portion S2. The first body 110 and the second body 120are configured according to the relevant components, and have a relativemovement with the hinge module 140, that is, the first body 110 and thesecond body 120 may be regarded as having a distance to slide freelyalong the axial direction X3.

First, when the first body 110 and the second body 120 are foldedrelative to each other, as shown in FIG. 5A (corresponding to FIG. 1),the flexible display 130 is in the bent state, the first portion S1 andthe second portion S2 are opposite to each other, and the third portionS3 is bent, the bending of the third portion S3 may be accommodatedbetween the hinge module 140 and the first body 110 and the second body120 while the first body 110 and the second body 120 are away from therotating shafts 141 and 142 of the hinge module 140.

Next, sequentially switching from FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B to FIG. 5Crepresents switching the electronic device 100 from a folded state to anunfolded state, that is, the flexible display 130 is switched from thebent state to the flat state. Since the deformation of the flexibledisplay 130 (from being bent to flattened) generates size variations, adeformation force thereof drives the first body 110 and the second body120 to correspondingly slide along the first slide shaft 143 and thesecond slide shaft 144. Meanwhile, driven by the first linking membersA1 to A3, the first sleeve 151 and the second sleeve 152 will slidealong the first guiding shaft 143 to restrict the sliding route of thefirst body 110. Also, driven by the second linking members A4 to A6, thethird sleeve 161 and the fourth sleeve 162 will slide along the secondguiding shaft 144 to restrict the sliding route of the second body 120.In addition, it can be clearly identified from FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C thatthe first linking members A1 to A3 and the second linking members A4 toA6 are configured in a symmetrical contour. Therefore, the sliding routeof the first sleeve 151, the second sleeve 152, and the first body 110will be consistent with the sliding route of the third sleeve 161, thefourth sleeve 162, and the second body 120, and the sliding routes maybe appropriately designed in accordance with the degree of deformationof the flexible display 130.

It should be noted that during the process of FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C, thedistance of the first body 110 and the second body 120 relative to thehinge module 140 changes as a result of the process. A distance d1 (FIG.5A) is shortened to a distance d2 (FIG. 5B) and further shortened to adistance d3 (FIG. 5C), where the distance d1>the distance d2>thedistance d3. In other words, during the unfolding process, the firstbody 110 and the second body 120 respectively moves closer to the firstrotating shaft 141 and the second rotating shaft 142 from the oppositesides of the hinge module 140 to generate a contraction-like actionuntil the flat state shown in FIG. 5C. At this time, the first body 110,the hinge module 140, and the second body 120 are on the same plane, andthe flexible display 130 may be stably supported by the first body 110,the hinge module 140, and the second body 120, especially for the thirdportion S3, which may rely on the hinge module 140 to prevent theflexible display 130 from creasing or even falling off at the thirdportion S3 thereof.

Conversely, when the electronic device 100 is reversely switched fromthe unfolded state shown in FIG. 5C to the folded state of FIG. 5A, itrepresents that the flexible display 130 is switched from the flat stateto the bent state. Since the third portion S3 will be bent again, duringthe folding process, the deformation of the flexible display 130 willdrive the first body 110 and the second body 120 to slide along thecorresponding first guiding shaft 143 and second guiding shaft 144.Also, the first body 110 and the second body 120 will slide to thecorresponding first sleeve 151, second sleeve 152, third sleeve 161, andfourth sleeve 162 via the first linking members A1 to A3 and the secondlinking members A4 to A6, so that the first body 110 and the second body120 may be away from the first rotating shaft 141 and the secondrotating shaft 142 of the hinge module 140, and the bending formed bythe third portion S3 may be smoothly accommodated in the space after thefirst body 110 and the second body 120 are away from the hinge module140.

Based on the above, in the above embodiments of the disclosure, sincethe electronic device is disposed with the flexible display, in orderfor the device structure to conform with the deformation requirement ofthe flexible display, the electronic device makes use of the firstguiding shaft configured by the hinge module at the first rotating shaftand the second guiding shaft configured at the second rotating shaft toallow the first body and the second body to be slidably configured atthe first guiding shaft and the second guiding shaft respectively. Atthe same time, the first guiding shaft and the second guiding shaft areeach further configured with a first linking assembly and a secondlinking assembly, and are correspondingly connected to the first bodyand the second body. Accordingly, the component configuration will causethe first body and the second body to each have a slidable distance, sothat a specific route may be moved according to the amount ofdeformation of the flexible display.

In this way, the first body and the second body may also move relativeto the hinge module during rotational unfolding and folding such thatthe bodies may be away from the hinge module when the flexible displayis in the bent state, so that the space after the bodies are away fromthe hinge module may accommodate the bending of the flexible display.Also, the bodies and the hinge module may be located on the same planeto support the flexible display together when the flexible display is inthe flat state. The relative motion between the bodies and the hingemodule may conform with the deformation requirement of the flexibledisplay, thereby effectively preventing the flexible display fromcreasing or even falling off.

Although the disclosure has been disclosed in the above embodiments, theembodiments are not intended to limit the disclosure. It will beapparent to persons skilled in the art that various modifications andvariations can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departingfrom the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, itis intended that the disclosure covers modifications and variationsprovided that they fall within the scope of the following claims andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a hinge modulehaving a first rotating shaft, a second rotating shaft, a first guidingshaft, and a second guiding shaft, wherein the first rotating shaft isparallel to the second rotating shaft, the first guiding shaft isorthogonal to the first rotating shaft, and the second guiding shaft isorthogonal to the second rotating shaft; a first body slidably assembledto the first guiding shaft; a first linking assembly slidably assembledto the first guiding shaft and connected to the first body; a secondbody slidably assembled to the second guiding shaft; a second linkingassembly slidably assembled to the second guiding shaft and connected tothe second body; and a flexible display disposed on the first body andthe second body, wherein the first body and the second body relativelyrotate to be folded or unfolded via the first rotating shaft and thesecond rotating shaft, and the first body and the second body are drivenby a deformation of the flexible display to move closer to or away fromthe hinge module.
 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, whereinwhen the first body and the second body are folded relative to eachother, the first body and the second body are away from the firstrotating shaft and the second rotating shaft, and the flexible displayis in a bent state, wherein when the first body and the second body areunfolded relative to each other, the first body and the second bodyrespectively moves closer to the first rotating shaft and the secondrotating shaft from opposite sides of the first rotating shaft and thesecond rotating shaft, and the flexible display is in a flat state. 3.The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the first body andthe second body have a distance relative to the first rotating shaft andthe second rotating shaft, the distance is variable, and the distancewhen the flexible display is in the bent state is greater than thedistance when the flexible display is in the flat state.
 4. Theelectronic device according to claim 2, wherein the first body, thehinge module, and the second body are on a same plane to support theflexible display when the flexible display is in the flat state.
 5. Theelectronic device according to claim 2, wherein a display surface of theflexible display comprises a first portion, a second portion, and athird portion, the third portion is adjacent between the first portionand the second portion, the first portion is configured at the firstbody, the second portion is configured at the second body, the thirdportion forms a bending when the flexible display is in the bent state,and the bending is accommodated in a space after the first body and thesecond body are away from the hinge module.
 6. The electronic deviceaccording to claim 5, wherein the second portion relies on the hingemodule when the flexible display is in the flat state.
 7. The electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the first linking assemblycomprises: a first sleeve and a second sleeve slidably configured at thefirst guiding shaft; a plurality of first linking members seriallyhinged to one another, one of the plurality of first linking members ishinged to the first sleeve, another one of the plurality of firstlinking members is hinged to the second sleeve, and yet another one ofthe plurality of first linking members is hinged to the first body,wherein the second linking assembly comprises: a third sleeve and afourth sleeve slidably configured at the second guiding shaft; aplurality of second linking members serially hinged to one another, oneof the plurality of second linking members is hinged to the thirdsleeve, and another one of the plurality of second linking members ishinged to the fourth sleeve, and yet another one of the plurality ofsecond linking members is hinged to the second body, wherein when thefirst body and the second body are relatively rotated to be folded orunfolded such that the flexible display is switched between a bent stateand a flat state, a deformation force of the flexible display drives thefirst body to move along the first guiding shaft and drives the secondbody to move along the second guiding shaft, and drives the first sleeveand the second sleeve to slide along the first guiding shaft, and drivesthe third sleeve and the fourth sleeve to slide along the second guidingshaft via the plurality of first linking members and the plurality ofsecond linking members.
 8. The electronic device according to claim 7,wherein one of the plurality of first linking members and one of theplurality of second linking members are hinged to the hinge module. 9.The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the first sleeve islocated between the second sleeve and the hinge module, a hinge point ofone of the plurality of first linking members and the first body isadjacent to the second sleeve, the third sleeve is located between thefourth sleeve and the hinge module, and a hinge point of one of theplurality of second linking members and the second body is adjacent tothe fourth sleeve.
 10. The electronic device according to claim 7,wherein the plurality of first linking members connected in series andthe plurality of second linking members connected in series areconfigured in a symmetrically contour.